New Gods of North America

Back to the "courtyard" where Willy's family lived,

Wayne and his team first checked to see if anyone had tampered with the surroundings or set traps, and then continued to take turns to stand guard and rest.

As some agreed-upon secret signals appeared one after another, other ambushers seemed to be in position one after another.

Wayne and his team's plan against the murderer,

It was gradually discussed by everyone based on the "general theory" that applies to most extraordinary people.

Although the murderer, when transformed into "mist", is immune to gun damage, can also float or escape with the wind, he is indeed not easy to deal with.

However, judging by the common sense of the extraordinary world, a similar ability to "change one's own form"

Either you need to continuously consume a certain amount of spiritual energy to "maintain" the special form,

Or it would require expending a large amount of spiritual power at one time when "transforming form", and then it could be maintained naturally for a certain period of time.

Generally speaking,

The former type of ability is unlikely to last for a long time, while the latter type of ability is unlikely to be switched multiple times in a short period of time.

Judging from what happened to Wayne and the others last night, not long after the murderer started to sprinkle kerosene, he smashed the bucket into the house, and then it turned into "mist" again. The time interval in between was very short, so it is estimated that it is more inclined to the former type.

Although it cannot be completely confirmed and requires actual testing, we can first make an estimate based on normal circumstances.

Moreover, the murderer's "fog" form, if examined carefully, is actually a double-edged sword.

Since the murderer is immune to gun damage when he turns into mist, it probably means that he is actually unable to physically "interact" with other objects when he is in mist state.

——In other words, when he enters the "fog state", he probably can't hit anyone.

So once more people participate, it becomes a relay race.

Including Wayne and the other three, there were a total of twenty-one extraordinary people in the bar who were willing to participate in the hunt for the murderer.

If the murderer appears again, then after he turns into "mist" again,

What awaits him is a marathon.

Extraordinary people with weak combat power don't even need to participate in the battle.

You just need to follow the division of labor, cooperate with the large group to track, and then release fireworks in time to indicate the location. Naturally, other people will take position in advance according to the direction or take over the relay to track.

Once the murderer's base or identity is exposed, or he is forced to release the "fog" state and cannot change again for a short period of time,

What remains is just an ordinary war of annihilation.

Wayne didn't really understand this extraordinary knowledge at first.

But as everyone in the bar began to brainstorm, Wayne secretly learned a lot of extraordinary knowledge, and the plan seemed to become more and more mature amidst everyone's mutual rebuttal and discussion.

A more interesting point is that

Such large-scale centralized discussions may have already become the norm in organizations such as churches or police stations.

However, for the wild extraordinary people who fight on their own on a daily basis, it seems to be a relatively fresh experience.

As the feasibility of the plans discussed seemed to increase, the enthusiasm of many people to participate seemed to increase, and even Willy seemed eager to try.

In order to force the murderer to show up, everyone even discussed a secondary plan -

Investigate kerosene.

The world's oil and refining industry is still in its infancy on a relatively small scale. Production is unstable, prices fluctuate wildly in various places, and its main uses are lighting and a small part of mechanical lubrication.

Although kerosene is not a regulated raw material and can be purchased by every household, for normal lighting needs, ordinary people will not buy too large a quantity at one time - if using an ordinary household kerosene lamp, one gallon of kerosene can be used for about two months, which is fifty or sixty nights that do not stay up all night.

If you use it sparingly or combine it with other lighting such as candles, it can last longer.

Refined kerosene for lamps now costs about 80 cents to $1.50 a gallon. A standard wooden barrel holds 42 gallons, which costs at least thirty or forty dollars.

The murderer used kerosene to set the fire last night. He must have done it on impulse after realizing that something was wrong. Otherwise, stabbing directly would have been simpler and more efficient. Therefore, he could not have taken too long to prepare the kerosene.

But it is unlikely that the merchant would have been unimpressed by the almost full barrel of kerosene, whether he had stolen it or bought it.

Suddenly, the amount of food used by an average family for at least a few years is missing, so even if it is a lie, it would not be difficult to investigate.

…

Nothing happened overnight.

The next morning,

According to the division of labor, Wayne went to the cathedral to report to Roose Bolton about the plan to continue capturing the murderer.

Roose Bolton didn't seem surprised that Wayne and his team would continue to investigate the murder case.

But he was obviously slightly shocked by the specific plan Wayne mentioned:

"It's only been one night since you got the charter, and you've already recruited more than a dozen new helpers?!"

"It's not what you think."

Wayne explained to him honestly, "There are already many people in Kankers who are paying attention to the murderer. It just so happens that they got involved once we took the lead. If it were something else, they might not have cooperated."

Roose Bolton was noncommittal:

"According to the confessions of other criminals in the counterfeit money den in Hewan Town, the murderer was actually relatively independent of them. He only helped deal with some 'strange people' when there was a risk of leaking secrets.

"It's a pity that the leader who was in charge of contacting the murderer directly was shot dead on the spot because of his armed counterattack. Otherwise, I might be able to tell you the identity of the murderer directly.

"But there is one thing I have figured out. The murderer seems to be able to locate the location of counterfeit bills within a certain distance based on a certain component in the counterfeit bills. The previous victims might have been found that way."

Hmm...

This is consistent with what Lina said before, that she was warned by the "wise sage"...

If you think about it again, although several victims were searched before, their valuables were not completely taken away, so the murderer might have been looking for counterfeit money.

And the murderer doesn't seem to be short of money...

Wayne thought about it:

"If the murderer we finally find is a 'known' person in the city, will we be in trouble?"

Roose Bolton seemed to think it over seriously.

Finally, he shook his head and said, "Catching the serial killer is not wrong either legally or morally. As long as the evidence is solid, no one will openly cause trouble for you."

That's what you said!

Wayne nodded quickly, "I see. I feel relieved if you promise it yourself."

But before Wayne walked out of the office,

Roose Bolton stopped him and gave him a little reminder: "Although I can acquiesce to your plan, you are leading a group of wild Beyonders, so try not to make too much noise in the city. Don't hurt innocent people, it will have a bad impact."

"Don't worry." Wayne patted his waist twice out of habit, "I know what I'm doing."